SCAM WARNING! The North Carolina Secretary of State has issued a Scam Warning! There have been a recent flurry of misleading emails going around from a company called North Carolina Certified Document Services that states your business Annual Report is due and claims you are receiving this correspondence because youContinue Reading
What is Asset Alignment? Assets must be aligned with your Trust or Will to keep them out of Probate court and accomplish the many things they are designed to do. This legal strategy is called “Asset Alignment” (also known as the “funding” of a trust). Asset alignment ensures that allContinue Reading
Download Your Estate Plan Review Checklist or – review your plan online using our ONLINE ESTATE PLAN REVIEW TOOL Updating your ESTATE PLAN regularly is vitally important – especially when you know your wishes or circumstances have changed. Use one of our Estate Plan Review Tools to determine if youContinue Reading
Estate Planning is not a ‘once-and-done’ kind of thing. You’re never really done with an estate plan because when life changes, so might your plan. Continue Reading
Common Assets in Estate Planning Discover what assets are involved in estate planning The types of accounts and property you own play a large part in the estate planning process. Figuring out what property and assets should be included in your estate planning can be a daunting thought. Use thisContinue Reading
How to Help Your Loved Ones (and Assets) Avoid Probate Today, many people are using a revocable living trust instead of a will or joint ownership as the foundation of their estate plan. When properly prepared, a living trust avoids the public, costly and time-consuming court processes of conservatorship orContinue Reading
3 Simple Ways to Avoid Probate Costs THE BAD NEWS When your estate (ie. all of your money and property) has to go through probate (the court-supervised process of validating your Will and/or distributing your money and property), it can be subject to a variety of costs stemming from attorneys,Continue Reading
Trust Funding: Setting Your Trustee Up for Success What is Trust Funding? Trust funding is the process of transferring the ownership of accounts and property to the trust during your lifetime, or designating the trust as a beneficiary of an account or piece of property so that the trust willContinue Reading
Help! This Probate is Taking Forever!!! AfterĀ a loved one dies, their money and property must be distributed to the right people, either according to their will or the stateās default distribution scheme (found in its āintestacyā statute). While most people want the settlement process to be done ASAP, probate canContinue Reading
Your Nosy Neighbor Can Find Out About Your Probate Estate (and read your Last Will) …REALLY. Because wills are filed at the courthouse, probated estates become a matter of public record. That means your nosy neighbor Nellie can simply go down to the courthouse or hop online and find out aboutContinue Reading
As the coronavirus continues to disrupt daily life and leave Americans uncertain of the future, you donāt have to feel helpless during this pandemic. In fact, now is a great time to be proactive and plan ahead should you or a loved one fall ill. One of the most important and relatively easy things you can do (and should do) is to select a medical agent and set up your healthcare power of attorney.Ā Continue Reading
Is online, do-it-yourself estate planning worth the perceived upfront savings?Continue Reading